This was Gibsons first bass bridge to allow separate intonation of each string, and was used on the reverse and non-reverse body, and the from 1963-69. Unlike all other Gibson bass bridges, it required a separate tailpiece, and was fitted with a damper spring, which acted as a mute by pushing felt blocks (not pictured) against the strings. The bridge posts were short-bushing type, nickel (early) or chrome (later) platedEven though this bridge was designed to be intonatable, in practise this was not always possible, leading people to reposition the bridge slightly. A replacement bridge by Scott Dasson ( is currently available that resolves this issue, with no modifications necessary to the instrument itself. Gibson two-point Tune-O-Matic bridge. Introduced in around 1967, the two point bridge was Gibsons first attempt at a bass bridge that allowed separate intonation of each string. The bridge attaches to its posts by means of two hex screws.
When posts or hex screws are worn, the bridge can tip forward to some extent (some people call this bridge the Gibson ever-tilt), which can cause problems with action, and intonation. This is common in basses with no under-bridge mute. Notice also that the silk wraps at the ball end of the string don't always stop before the bridge saddle, avoided, by removing some of the wraps with a razor blade, or better still buying strings with no wraps. Most versions had the nylon saddles pictured here, though around late 71, early 72 some of these bridges were equipped with chrome plated metal saddles. Gibson TRI-4 wedge bridge. As used on the and Explorer basses.
1981 publicity for the Victory bass summed it up: For the ultimate in player adjustment we give you the TRI-4 bridge. We start with a chrome-plated heavy cast base plate secured directly to the body, but check out its versatility. You can adjust the bridge inserts forward and back for intonation, and you can adjust your individual string action height by moving it up or down. But the adjustment that pulls everything together into a total player package is the side to side adjustment.
We preset the string spacing for you but you can change it to suit your specific needs. Fly Guitars Comment left 12th December 2017 15:03:38Hi Don, the material is just thick felt - note there are different grades of felt for different applications - and the precise specifications of the originals are not published, but seems to be pretty close. F3 felt is pretty rigid, but obviously gives if compressed.
The original was approximately (it's hard to measure due to it's malleability and there may also be some variance) 6mm (approximately 1/4') x 8mm x 60mm - so a 1/4' thick sheet should give you plenty of material to cut several.